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SO FRENCHY SO CHIC
shares the second instalment
YÉ-YÉ 2.0
FT. ODETTE, NGAIIRE, WOODES,
ELIZABETH & JULIA WALLACE

+ SO FRENCHY SO CHIC festivals
in Melbourne & Sydney this Feb

Listen here

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So Frenchy So Chic shares the second instalment of their heartfelt collaboration, YÉ-YÉ 2.0, featuring another all-star cast, with contributions from Odette, Ngaiire, Woodes, Elizabeth & Julia Wallace. Strengthening the French-Australian cultural bond, the second release sees more of Australia’s finest female talent reinterpret iconic songs of the YÉ-YÉ movement.

Exploding into popular culture during the ‘60s, when youth, freedom and politics were changing the world, the YÉ-YÉ movement was a celebration of nonchalance, happiness and optimism. Inspired by the rock ‘n’ roll sounds emerging from the UK and USA, this musical style is the pinnacle of retro French cool. It was Serge Gainsbourg, France Gall, Brigitte Bardot and Françoise Hardy. It was rhythmic rock melodies. It was the twist. It was music that brought people together and made them feel anything was possible.  It was liberté, fraternité and egalité to a beat.

The second EP features Odette’s take on France Gall’s ‘Laisse Tomber Les Filles’ (‘Stop Messing Around With The Girls’). Composed by Serge Gainsbourg, the track is more arch and knowing than the original, a coolly delivered f-you to all the players.  Odette, the England-born, Sydney-based singer nabbed two ARIA nominations for her debut album, To A Stranger, in 2018 and released her second album Herald last year to critical acclaim.

One of Australia’s brightest talents, Papua New Guinea-born Australian R&B future-soul singer, Ngaiire offers a stunning version of Johnny Hallyday’s ‘L’Idole Des Jeunes’ (The Idol of the Youth). Ngaiire has released three LPs, including her recent hit record, 3, which earned her multiple awards and nominations, including three ARIA nods for Best Soul/R&B Release, Breakthrough Artist and Best Artist.

Woodes’ interpretation of Clothilde’s ‘Fallait Pas Écraser La Queue Du Chat’ (‘Shouldn’t Crush the Cat’s Tail’) is as weird and wonderful as the original and instantly transportative, a hallmark of Woodes’ music. The Melbourne musician is best known for her 2020 debut album Crystal Ball, full of sweeping power-pop songs conjuring kingdoms and fantastical terrain.

Julia Wallace lends her unique, bruised vocal to ‘Mes Amis, Mes Copains’ (My Good Friends, My Dear Friends), originally sung by Annie Philippe, a rueful celebration of female friendship cloaked in sultry beats. A new face on the Australian music scene, Julia Wallace has already made a big splash. At just 20, the West Australian singer released her gorgeous debut EP Place in Mind to a ton of praise from media and industry alike.

Putting her own haunting stamp on the song, sad-pop goddess, Elizabeth, was the perfect choice to reinterpret Marie La Foret’s ‘Marie Colere – Marie Douceur’, itself an adaptation of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Paint it Black’. Elizabeth is the former frontwoman of the popular band Totally Mild and came into her own as a solo artist with her magical album, The Wonderful World of Nature, in late 2019.

The EP was produced by ARIA Award-nominated producer Alice Ivy and mixed by one of Australia’s most in-demand engineers and producers behind several multiplatinum award-winning releases, John Castle. It follows the first instalment of YÉ-YÉ 2.0, which featured an equally impressive list of Australian talent, including Ali Barter, Nadeah, Montaigne and Ainslie Wills.

The release comes ahead of the So Frenchy So Chic festivals in Sydney and Melbourne, where Ali Barter and Nadeah will perform for more than 10,000 Francophiles and music lovers. In addition to special performances at Womadelaide later this year.

SO FRENCHY SO CHIC
– 2022 Festival Dates

Sunday 13 Feb – Werribee Park Mansion, Melbourne
Saturday 19 Feb – Bicentennial Park, Sydney
Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 March – Womadelaide

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Yé-Yé 2.0 
Tracklist 

Listen here

1. Odette – Laisse tomber les fille
(Stop Messing Around With The Girls)

2. Woodes – Fallait pas écraser la queue du chat
(Shouldn’t Crush The Cat’s Tail)

 3. Ngaiire – L’idole Des Jeunes
(The Idol of the Youth)

4. Julia Wallace – Mes Amis Mes Copains
(My Good Friends, My Dear Friends)

5. Elizabeth – Marie Douceur Marie Colère
(Soft Marie, Angry Marie)

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About SO FRENCHY SO CHIC

For 16 years, So Frenchy So Chic has bridged the cultural gap between Australia and France via a shared love of music, food and conviviality.

So Frenchy So Chic began as Cartell Music, a Melbourne record label founded by French-Australian Jean-Francois Ponthieux, who dreamt of introducing contemporary French pop to Australian music lovers.

2005 saw the debut of the first So Frenchy So Chic music compilation. The yearly compilations sold over 150,000 copies annually and helped break French artists in Australia such as Camille, Nouvelle Vague, The Dø, Lou Doillon, Emilie Simon and more.

In 2012, So Frenchy So Chic in the Park was born; a summer festival in Melbourne and Sydney where fans could watch their French favourites perform live. Over the following decade, the festival hosted and toured more than 40 live acts including Nouvelle Vague, Féfé, Emilie Simon, Camille, Lou Doillon and The Dø.

“We wanted our community to experience the conviviality, energy and excitement of the village parties of my youth growing up in France,” says Ponthieux. “Everyone was invited: kids, teenagers, parents. And everything was superb: French food, French wine, French music. Above all, the sense of community and celebration of culture was a model for now. We live in complicated times. Why not make them simpler and more joyful?”

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Follow So Frenchy So Chic
Website – Facebook – Youtube
Instagram – Spotify – Apple Music

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AMNPLIFY – ML